IN THE DOMINION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 21, 18 November 1908, Page 5

IN THE DOMINION.

The first race for the Stead Memorial Gold Cup was won by Bobrikofl' on Saturday. A southern farmer has a ewe that has had 16 lambs in five seasons, and all but two were successfully reared. A fire occurred at Dargaville early on Sunday morning, destroying about £4OOO worth of property in Victoria street. The returns from the Komata Reefs mine to date total £3ll 632. to which the crushing for the last month contributed £3,278, the ore crushed being 2,350 tons. Tire engagement is announced of the Hon. Kathleen Plunket, sister of his Excellency the Governor, to Capt. Ed. Lycett Lyon (18th Hussars), A.D.C. to Lord Plunket. The marriage will take place in England. The New Zealand Crown Mines during September and October got bullion worth. £1,484 from 1,324 tons of ore. In August 1,724 tons of ore were crushed for a return of £2,165. The total amount which has been won from the mines is £743,222. The manner in which the temporary two days’ service between Auckland and Wellington is being patronised from both ends would seem to indicate that when the nineteen hour through run is properly established the route will be the popular means of communication between the two cities. The Commercial Property Finance Co., one of the oldest established financial institutions in Otago, is going into voluntary liquidation. The chairman says this step is due to the extreme tightness of the money market, and to the fact that (assistance was not forthcoming from bankers. Depositors are fully protected. The Auckland Society of Arts, in order to meet, the requests of a number of artists has decided that in the competitions for the coming year, special prizes will be offered for studies from the nude, the antique and the head; Should sufficient enthusiasm be shown in connection with the proposed life classes, Mr. C. F. Goldie has consented to act as director. The stranding of the Union Company's Hawea while trying to get out of Greyniouth recently, was enquired into by a Marine Court, and the finding completelyexonerated everybody concerned. It was suggested by the Court that vessels of deep draught in negotiating this narrow entrance should engage the services of a tug if any doubt existed about the depth of the water or the weather conditions prevailing. To be shipwrecked twice within eighteen months is the unpleasant experience of Mr. John Judge. Mr. Judge (states the Christchurch “Press”) was an able seaman on the ill-fated four-masted barque Dundonald, which was totally wrecked last year on the Auckland Islands, on the passage from Sydney to Queenstown, twelve of the crew being drowned. The sixteen survivors suffered terrible privations, and lived on the island for nine months until they were rescued by the Hinemoa. Judge remained on the New Zealand coast, and recently he again had the misfortune to be shipwrecked, he being one of the crew of the Hawea. which went ashore on the north tip at Greymouih. The wool clip in the North this season has been a particularly satisfactory one, and the quality of the fleece coming into the stores is particularly good. Farmers are feeling anything but happy over the prospects of the market, however, and it is considered that the average price for the coarser qualities will not go beyond s{d per lb at the opening sale on the 25th hist. The' Hawke's Bay Lund Board Ims approved of tile PJripiri Block being opened for settlement under the optional system. The block comprises 9000 acres. and it is within two miles of Dannevirke. More immigrants are expected to arrive, in New Zealand by the steamers Ruapehu and Papanui this month. The former steamer is bringing 27 assisted passengers with a declared capital of £172. The Papanui has on hoard 148 assisted immigrants. The declared capital of the t’apanui’s passengers, exclusive of nnmi ated passeneers, is £5OO.

Vivid. Imagination, Some time back the miners at the Otira end of Arthur’s Pass tunnel complained that the water met with during boring operations was of a mineral nature, and acted injuriously on the hands of the men. A sample of the water was sent to Mr. A- A. Bickerion, Govern* went analyst, and in his report, just received, he states , that it is exceptionally pure, and free from any injurious matter. Hanging Fire. The movement, inaugurated in Wellington some considerable time ago to establish a City crcmatorian seems to hang fire (says our correspondent). In the trust fund there is £BOO to credit on account of subscriptions, etc., and in addition a vote of £4OO has been made by the City Council. Tenders have been invited for the supply of a furnace, and responses have been made by firms in various parts of the world. At this stage the matter seems to be halting. It is known that the grant of £4OO by the City Council will not be sufficient with the £BOO now in hand to foot the bills that will have to be met for purchase of a completed installation. There still remains a difference of opinion as to where the crema* tori tun should be erected. Long-distance Launch Race. The 50-guinea cup, known as the ‘‘Rudder Cup,” presented to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron some time ago by Mr. T. Fleming Day for competition amongst the power boat owners of New Zealand over an ocean course of 100 miles, will be competed for, for the first time, on December 12th next. The conditions stipulate that the launches must be bona fide cruisers of a length not less than 25ft water line. The preliminary course for the race has been mapped out as follows: Starting between Queenstreet Wharf and mark buoy moored due north, thence round Sail Rock, distance 115 knots, or round first buoy inside Mure Bank. Whangarei Heads, distance 130 knots. The final course will be at the discretion of the Sailing Committee, posted in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s rooms previous to the rac£. A list of all the conditions a vailable at the Squadron’s rooms. Interchange of Teachers. Two applications from English teachers for inclusion on the employment list of the Auckland Education Board were received by the Board last week. The chairman (Mr C. J. Purr) expressed his opinion that the time was not far distant when there would bo an interchange of teachers, the New Zealand teachers going home to the Old Country for a year or so. or to America and Canada, ami the English and Canadian teachers coming here for a like period. In his opinion it would be a most desirable thing, if some half-a-dozen of the most promising young men of New Zealand should have, free of cost an opportunity to go home to the Ohl Country and study the methods there, thus affording them the same chance as the English teachers. This would tend to brighten the outlook of a teacher, and thus give a much greater value to his work. The secretary (Mr V. Rice) remarked that applications were coming in from English teachers as a result of the increased salaries and superann nation. The Tnatara. Inquiries made .in Wellington recently show that contrary to prevailing opinion the tuatara lizard has not been given legal protection. Its name is included in a li-t of native animals in a schedule of the Animals Protection Act. 1906, but the Act merely pro vides that the animals may be protected by an announcement in the “Gazette.** 11 does not state that they shall te protected. The tuatara baj not been gazetted. It is, therefore, not under protection, and there is nothing to prevent its destruction. The very comprehensive clauses of the Maori Antiquities Act, passed a few years ago, operate against the export of tuataras, dead or alive, from the Dominion. “Maori antiquity” is defined by the Act

as of scientific value relating to New Zealand,” and no “antiquity” can be sent away from New Zealand without the consent of the Minister of the Interior. The provision is so general in its scope that it has been put into force. Further inquiries show that there are good grounds for the statement that tuatara lizards are sent in fairly large numbers to England and other countries. Improving Napier. Within the next few weeks work on the extension to the Glasgow wharf at Napier will reach the stage which will preclude the time-table steamers of the Union Steamship Company and Hudctarli’arkcr Company mooring alongside. This is expected to continue till the middle of next year, and during this period the companies announce that tendering will have to be reverted to. It is proposed that the steamers shall lie under the lee of the breakwater, passenger work being done from the Glasgow wharf, the short distance to be travelled thus ensuring a minimum of inconvenience. The Servant Problem. The report on the Auckland Women’s Bureaux in the Labour Department’s Journal for November states: Applications by employers for domestic assist l ance numbered 180 for the October period, whilst 100 workers applied for engagement. Out of that number 62 were sent to work. The dearth of generals is very seriously and keenly felt, and some persuasion has been used to try and induce housemaids and others, whom it is difficult to place, to take up situations as generals, but few can be induced to take this step. During the month the steamer Surrey was met, but very few of the domestics on board felt inclined to take immediate employment; in fact, this means of getting domestic servants seems to be very unsatisfactory, us the girls arriving are either unsuitable for the work or seem disinclined to take it up. Norfolk Island Stokers. The Pacific Cable Board's chairman, in a letter to the Government, states; — ‘The Norfolk Island stokers who replaced the Chinese at the close of last year, thotigh at first raw and untrained, and requiring considerable supervision, are becoming seasoned, and have proved a wellbehaved set of men. The employment afforded by the cable ship to the natives of Norfolk Island has contributed very materially to the prosperity of this smalt and interesting community.” Hongi’s Armour Found. The armour of Hongi, the earliest Maori chief to arm his warriors with muskets, has been unearthed by Dr. Poniare with the assistance of the native sanitary inspector -at Pukehika Pa, opposite Jerusalem, on the Wanganui river. For about half a century its whereabouts was unknown except to a very few. The armour was given to Hongi by King George IV’. when the chieftain made his visit to England. The helmet is still missing, but Dr. Pomare states that he knows where to locate it. The armour has been taken ito Wellington, and will be exhibited in the Dominion Museum. Backblicks Roads. The whole of the authorities lor the expenditure of the quarter of a million voted and allocated by Parliament, at the close of last session, for roading the backblocks, have been distributed to the vari,’ous district (engineers of the Public Works Department, and to the local bodies concerned. The work can now proceed at once. Progression. Thu produce exports for the month of October, as compared with October. 1907. show increases in mutton, lamb, and oats io the value of £95,689, and decreases in butter, cheese, beef and hemp to £77.946. or an increase in principal exports for October, as com|Kirod with October last year, to the value of £ 17,743. No-license Demonstration at Auckland. Long before 2.30 o’clock on Saturday afternoon a crowd, wihch gradually in creased to within 4000 to 5000 people, assembled around the Grey Statute at the foot of Grey st., the starting point of the great No-license demonstration. Before

long gaily decorated lorries, tilled with daintily attired c hildren, drove up, followed by many other smaller vehicles, such as |»ony and dogcarts, each bearing banners and No license emblems. Amongst these, the following were the moat noticeable: A vehicle filled with little girls tearing the motto, “Mothers, protect us by your vote.” Another had (he words, “Parents, as you love <im, save us”; while in a third, a girl was enthroned, ami had a sceptre in her hand. Her motto wus, “Tyrants tremble; we are growing.” An interesting vehicle was a large lifeboat, manned by a juvenile crew, while still another represented an enormous bottle escorted by a squad of juvenile police. This had a Haring banner. “Nothing doing in (lutha. we are coming here.” Considerable amusement was caused by a woman, evidently emblematical of the Goddess of Freedom, who was dragging a very dejex*ted-looking devil b*. chains. Many of the lorries presented a pretty sight, being tilled with children, all waving small Hags, while the youngsters were continually ringing “No-license” songs, and every now and (hen shouting “.strike out the top line.” The van of th? procession, comprising some 70 yehivlc.«, reached St. Matthew's Church, via Queen, Customs, and Hobson streets, befor? I he last unit had left the Grey Statue. I hr streets e n mute'wore thronged with people. 'l’he Western Park was ii'ached shortly after 4 p.m. Here a crowd ob about five hundred had gathered, an! the prm-eeding- were of a very enthusiastic nature. Desperate Prisoner. There was a scene at the Auckland Supreme Court one day last week, when a man named William Richard McLean, twenty-seven years of age, was sentenced to twenty year.-.* imprisonment with hard labour, upon a charge of having attempted to murder Constable Maher at Taumarunui. The evidence showed that the prisoner had tweii accosted by the constable when alighting from the train at Taumarunui (in the prohibited area) with some whisky. resented the enquiries, and made a murderous attack on him, in fact the man’s life was only saved by the timely arrival of two other people on the scene. When the sentence was announced by the judge, the prisoner, who is a man of abnormal strength, created a terrible scene, and before he was overpowered and carried out. of court fifteen ronstaldes and war tiers handled him. Government House Site. In his Pahiatua address, the Primo Minister stated in reply to the criticism of the tender of the Opposition, as to the cost of the new Parliament buildings and Gov<*rniuenl House, that the cost of the site of the new residence for his Excellency the Governor, need not te taken into account, as the Government had derided to erect the Governor’s residence on a reserve, for which the Government would not pay a | jnnv piece. Th*re is good authority for saying that the site K-fcrred to by Sir Joseph Ward is what is known as the Mount \'iew site at the back of Wellington College, and it is upon this reservo that the antiquated and unsuitable wooden building now used as a mental hospital is situated. Men as Churchgoers. At the Presbyt’uian (General Assembly held at Dunedin the State of Religion ('ommrttee. which issued circulars in order to prepare a careful study on the religion- condition of men am! boys, and to suggest recommendations a*, to methods of work kiscd on the facts a-ccrtained, reported that |lu» response was not so complete as might have been desired, nor the answers alway- sufficiently precise to be found of much value to the que-ti hi as to whether many Presbyterian families within the bounds of a charge were not in regular church connection and attendance; 61.2 per rent of the answers wen* favourable. 12 per rent indifferent or ambiguous, and 26.7 per cent unfavourable. The pro|»ortMjn <»f men attending Sunday service* was:- - Auckland. 42.4 per cent; Taranaki, 39.2; Wanganui. 41.1; Hawke's Bay, 48.1; Wellington, 41.5; Nelson, 33; Westland, 37.2; Christchurch, 39.9; Timuru, 43.5; Oamaru, 41.6; Dunstan, 41; Dunedin. 43.9; Clutha, 44.7; Malaura, 41.5; Southland. 45.8. Three unplaced congmgation< gave a percentage of 40.3. Returns from several Presbyteries were fak

complete, notably from Wellington and Nelson. The average for the Dominion Worked out to 41.5 per eent. The average for the Dominion of persons eonnected with various Church organisations stood at 37.7. The ratio of male communicants to female was:—Auck< land, 39.5; Taranaki, 30.4; Wanganui, 31.2; Hawke’s Bay, 43.7; Wellington, 35.3; Nelson, 30.6; Westland, 39.8; Christchurch, 37.9; Timaru, 38.5; Oamaru, 31.5; Dunstan, 32.5; Dunedin, 36.2; t'lutha, 38.9; Mataura, 40.7; Southland, 38. The total average for the Church was 36.6 per cent. The committee was of opinion that a definite aim in the working of Sunday schools, Bible classes, ami church services was indispensable. The painfully small percentages of young communicants showed where there was the greatest scope for development. The committee recommended the establishment of Decision Day in the Sundayschools, al-o that it be shown that it is a perfectly natural thing for children of from 12 to 15 years of age Io take part in the Lord’s Supper. Clubs and Reduction. A rather interesting point, has been raised as to the exact position in which clubs will find themselves, so far at Jeast as their charters are concerned, in the event of reduction being carried *** the local option poll. Tin* point is whether the clubs will by dealt with independently, or will tiny be added t«- the total of hotels with whose licenses the Licensing Committees have to do? On the inattcr being referred to an official in the department of the Minister for Internal Ailairs, it was found to be one of Some importance, which, as far as was known, had not been previously raised. The Licensing Act is quite clear as to what is to happen when No-license is carried, for it is laid down in section 263 that this would mean the suspension of all club charters; but. strange to say, no provision seems to have been made for dealing with cases such as that referred to, and the carrying of reduction would apparently have no effect upon the number of club charters. There is no provision for reducing their number in any way beyond suspending them altogether. Necessary Accomplishment. Tn the basement of the new training college, at Auckland, is an institution which should be adopted in every large building erected for education purposes. It is almost a necessity that every Teacher should be proficient in the art of swimming. Teachers are sent in charge of small pupils on water excursions, and it is essential that those, in charge should be capable of rendering assistance in ease of mishap. The idea is an innovation in New Zealand, but is not new in England and some other countries. It is hoped that the student teachers at the training colleges will take full advantage of the opportunity afforded them of lieccnning good swimmers.